Update (AP): Both the Journal and the Times report that the situation at reactor number two has stabilized in some respects, with a core group of 50 emergency workers remaining behind to pump sea water into the containment vessel. Radiation levels near the plant are reportedly down sharply after soaring following the explosion at reactor two. As Ed noted, the major concern right now appears to be the possibility of spent fuel rods boiling over; according to the NYT, that area is now so dangerous that workers cant approach it.

On FOX this morning....they had the author of Krakatoa, talking about the Pacific “Ring of Fire”..He had a map..showing the quakes in Chile, then New Zealand, now Japan...if one gives credence to the theory that the big quake in Chile got the whole Pacific region going, then following the activity around the outlines of the palte..the next area is the pacific Northwest..the Cascadia fault, just offshore Washington...really scary hypothesis..

1513: Jeremy O’Neill, a Canadian trying to get home from Urayasu in Chiba prefecture, tells the BBC: “As a foreigner here, there is a growing sense of feeling trapped. People are handling the matter in different ways; some are panicking while others are turning a blind eye. All the while the uncertainty grows more palpable, with a lack of definitive information from authorities. That is the worst part - the uncertainty. I am from Vancouver in Canada and have been out here since August 2010. I was meant to be staying here until April 2011 but I just want to get home now. The situation doesn’t seem to be improving here. I have booked a flight home for tomorrow but many of the flights are getting cancelled - I feel trapped.”

1507: A spokesman for Japan’s meteorological agency says he does not know if there is a link between the strong earthquakes on Tuesday - including one of 6.0 magnitude - and Friday’s massive 9.0-magnitude tremor. He says the epicentres were quite far apart.

If they are pumping sea water *into* the system to cool it - where is the water going off to? Are they pumping it directly into the core, or is it going through a heat exchange system? If the latter, is there radiation exchange in the heat exchange system? (I know there is not SUPPOSED to be.)

16
posted on 03/15/2011 8:30:05 AM PDT
by Fido969
("The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax." - Albert Einstein)

The Spent Fuel pool is now the biggest worry, it is NOT in a containment vessel, it is exactly what it sounds like, A POOL. If the water boils off, the rods will be exposed to air and will melt, releasing huge amounts of radiation.

19
posted on 03/15/2011 8:33:40 AM PDT
by commish
(Freedom tastes sweetest to those who have fought to preserve it.)

Also the MIT Nuclear Science Engineering dept. has revised the original overview written by Joseph Oehman because they thought it was good, basic information and are now posting updates at http://mitnse.com

Given the progression from Chile, I would think Kamchatka, the Aleutians or Alaska would be more likely event locations. The weird thing about this hypothesis is that it matches a supposedly official report by a Russian Scientific Academy that was prepared for Putin. It predicted a mega quake in the next forthnight along the west coast of the Americas.Since the hypothesis involved some mumbo jumbo about electro magnetic readings in the athmosphere it was mocked by many here on R yesterday, including me. But this Fox interview puts it in a new light.

Just announced on FOX that the death toll is soon expected to OFFICIALLY go over Ten Thousand. I remember Friday, when the first news reports came on, how all the networks were announcing..DEATH TOLL OFFICIALLY ONE ....it sounded so stupid..

I think that explains the "stoic Japanese" more than all the other explanations I've heard.

Yesterday Rush was going on and on about how the people in Tokyo were "golfing and going about their lives". I couldn't think of the phrase but "while others are turning a blind eye" seems to fit nicely.

42
posted on 03/15/2011 8:50:00 AM PDT
by raybbr
(People who still support Obama are either a Marxist or a moron.)

I am flabbergasted the president is actually going to South America while the Middle East, North Africa and Japan are in the middle of major crisis. It’s mindboggling. He postponed important trips before for health care vote, didn’t he?

Yesterday there were many reports of several trains just disappearing. ( including a bullet train) Has anyone read anything more about it? Seems to me the trains would have been swept INSHORE..and when the waters receded, they’d be pretty visible..

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